[VIDEO] Babar Azam has to be removed as captain from all formats

[Savak]

Don't understand the desperation of players to continue to hog the captaincy in Pakistani Cricket. The captaincy role comes with a lot of pressures, unwanted attention, scrutiny and a drop in personal form. Its not like you drastically get paid a lot more either for being captain.

Babar has had 3 years in this job now. I haven't seen him improve or develop signficantly as captain in terms of reading the match situation, bowling changes, field placements or batting order decisions. I can argue he is in fact getting even worse than before.

I can personally point out many vital games Pakistan has lost under his captaincy

1) T20 WC SF against Australia in 2021

- Allowed Maxwell, Wade to help Australia recover from 96/5 to chase down 178 in 19 overs

2) Australian Home series 2022

- Prepared dead wickets, kept selecting the likes of Nauman and Sajid when it was abundantly clear these two spinners were not good enough to challenge Australia on dead wickets

3) Second test match against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka

- After seeing how pathetic Pakistani spinners were in the first test, he still decides to go in with a past prime Yasir Shah and selects part timers like Salman Ali Agha as his premier spinner

4) T20 game against India

- Instead of going for the kill against Kohli, Pandya, he allows them to stage a recovery from 31/4 to chase down 160 on a pacy, bouncy MCG wicket

5) T20 WC Final against England

- On a fast, seaming, swinging, pacy, bouncy MCG wicket where we have England 45-3 defending 138, where Pakistan had no choice but to go for the attack against an England batting line up where they bat all the way down to number 11, he refuses to bowl out Shaheen, Rauf, refuses to bring in 2 slips and instead allows Stokes, Brooks to settle in against Shadab, Wasim Jr

6) KK disaster season in PSL 7

- No franchise has ever had a horror season then they did under Babar's captaincy. The fact that Wasim Akram is happy to let him go is saying something even though Babar is hyped to be the best batsman in the country.

7) ODI Whitewash against England's C team in 2021 and 2-1 T20 series loss

3 years is a long time to assess someone's potential and ceiling as a captain, how he has captained in pressure situations in many games. History is filled with examples i.e. Joe Root, Sachin Tendulkar that just because you are the best batsman in the team does not mean you should be captaining the country either.

At the time when Babar was appointed in 2019, there were no alternatives back then but now there are other options i.e. Rizwan, Shadab, Shaheen who have shown ability and willingness to take risks as captains, to make bold calls and show out of the box thinking in their PSL stints.

I strongly appeal to Ramiz Raja to please remove Babar as captain from all formats and instruct him to focus on his batting. Pakistan needs him firing as a batsman in all formats without the burdens of captaincy. He is not cut out for the captaincy. Give it to someone else who is more naturally suited to the role.

 

[161]

Never should have been made captain in the first place now we are stuck with him

 

[7sins]

Man whatever you say this world cup final defeat will going to hurt us specially the fans because they know it was our team best chance to win it

 

[syedahsan]

There is a pattern of losses under Babar's captainship. Babar is a great batsman but terrible captain with the choice of team that he had selected for world cup T20 2022. Asif and Khush Dil Shah were a waste. They were not performing consistently even before the world cup. Similarly half fit Fakhar and Shaheen was picked. Seems like the culture is, since we have invested in these players by giving them multiple opportunities over 2-3 years so automatically their have the right to play world cup irrespective of their pre-world cup performances. They gave chance to Mohammad Harris after Fakhar pull out and everybody saw how he blossomed. Why did they not include best T20 players of domestic players and from PSL? Seems like they tell each other "we wont allow any new cricketer to come in the team as long as we keep praising each other and stay united irrespective of our performances". This cannot continue and we have seen the result that Babar does not have the right acumen to cross the finish line. Almighty have mercy on Peshawar Zalmi... as we all know how KK performed under Babar's captainship. I believe that in T20 Shadab Khan should be the captain and Shaheen Shah VC. Babar should bat down the order or leave T20. Babar is well suited at 3. Bring new faces from recently concluded T20 cup and from the upcoming PSL.

 

[badsha001]

He isn't a natural leader and neither is he smart or educated enough to acknowledge he isn't good enough to learn the leadership role. Heck he isn't even smart enough to improve his batting. He needs to be booted out of the national team and be told to improve both his game and mental capacity.

Edit: How come nobody wants to talk about his fielding when he was fielding at long off and dropped 2 catches of stokes (one fell infront of him and the other went for a 6 which at the very least could have been saved if not caught)

 

[7sins]

I would like to have Shaheen as a t20 captain but won't happen. Hey but don't put all the blame on babar the management is also the issue saqlain need to go now and yousuf didn't improve anyone I would love to have Mike hussey as our coach if he's interested he was England mentor

 

[adi_62941]

First of all, you think about removing captain when you have any better alternative to replace. The only contender of captaincy in Pak team is either rizwan and shadab. Because only these two can play atleast 2/3 formats. Shaheen can be exception but it would be too much workload on his already injured body.
Rizwan on other hand is no different than babar in his tactics and planning, however his predicted batting failures in future will make him more vulnerable to have him replaced easily. Shadab is good in leading the side as he did in PSL for some time, but he is prone to injuries plus he is an average player.

Conclusion is babar has potential to be a good captain in future, give him atleast 2 years to prove. He is only 28 and he will only going to improve in future and we will have stable team with a potentially performing captain which is ideal in countries like Pakistan.

Removing babar will only create problems within team. He can be removed from T20 format but he is a great player in ODI and we should focus on next year ODI worldcup and choose our players wisely.

 

[Savak]

First of all, you think about removing captain when you have any better alternative to replace. The only contender of captaincy in Pak team is either rizwan and shadab. Because only these two can play atleast 2/3 formats. Shaheen can be exception but it would be too much workload on his already injured body.
Rizwan on other hand is no different than babar in his tactics and planning, however his predicted batting failures in future will make him more vulnerable to have him replaced easily. Shadab is good in leading the side as he did in PSL for some time, but he is prone to injuries plus he is an average player.

Conclusion is babar has potential to be a good captain in future, give him atleast 2 years to prove. He is only 28 and he will only going to improve in future and we will have stable team with a potentially performing captain which is ideal in countries like Pakistan.

Removing babar will only create problems within team. He can be removed from T20 format but he is a great player in ODI and we should focus on next year ODI worldcup and choose our players wisely.

Typical of Pakistani Cricket followers to reinforce failures. This is the national team, if you don't deliver you make way for someone else. Kohli was a much better captain than Babar but even the BCCI got fed up with his failure to win ICC trophies and here Pakistan has a captain who has a chequered history of match losing captaincy blunders.

And no removing a failed captain and replacing him with a captain with more natural potential for the job will not create problems in the team but further improve it.

 

[Kianig89]

The amount of experience Babar had now it would be foolish to sack him rather made him sit down and change his approach, Shadab Shaeen are too unfit to lead on regular basis, also the team Babar had is utter crap we overachieved massively

 

[Justcrazy]

Pakistan lack planning , they fail to plan anything.

Why was made babar made captain ? because he was the best batsman in the team , is that a reason to be made captain ?

 

[adi_62941]

Typical of Pakistani Cricket followers to reinforce failures. This is the national team, if you don't deliver you make way for someone else. Kohli was a much better captain than Babar but even the BCCI got fed up with his failure to win ICC trophies and here Pakistan has a captain who has a chequered history of match losing captaincy blunders.

And no removing a failed captain and replacing him with a captain with more natural potential for the job will not create problems in the team but further improve it.

I think you more like typical pakistan cricket fan, you have to bring stability in your team in order to win important matches. Just by removing and appointing new captains wont fix the real issues. You being typical want to imagine pakistan playing like england and australia in batting department, however pak batters miss those traits to be modern batsmen due to many reasons can be discussed later on. Just check Virat captaincy records outside asia and you will know how much good he was.

Kan williamson as well as mahela/sangakkara also lead their sides in multiple semifinals and finals without any success which does not make them any less great player/captain.

We have to build a good team for next year worldcup which is not possible if we keep on changing captains and bringing average players as captain who can easily be removed and can be made scrap goat after failures.

 

[adi_62941]

And captain has to be strong and stubborn in nature who should know how to support the players. Sarfraz was really weak in that regards and that is why he was removed wrongly because he was a very average player.
Babar has built his reputation as someone who like to support his players and like to take full responsibility of his decisions. I know he is not that good in terms of taking decisions on field. But he will improve in future.
Playing two seminfinals and one final in last one year is not bad at all. Its just we run out of luck at crucial moments.

 

[Savak]

And captain has to be strong and stubborn in nature who should know how to support the players. Sarfraz was really weak in that regards and that is why he was removed wrongly because he was a very average player.
Babar has built his reputation as someone who like to support his players and like to take full responsibility of his decisions. I know he is not that good in terms of taking decisions on field. But he will improve in future.
Playing two seminfinals and one final in last one year is not bad at all. Its just we run out of luck at crucial moments.

Utterly naive thinking that Babar will improve his on field decision making. Three years have shown he doesn't have it in him, give him another 3-4 years and he still will not do it. Ramiz gave Babar the full authority and power to select his own team, now that the WC is over, Babar has to be held accountable, this is how professional sports works.

England removed Joe Root and India removed Kohli. Babar is inferior to these players as both player and captain, Pakistan Cricket is not going to stagnate and suffer by replacing him as captain with a better option. Some people have a ceiling and will not improve further as captains after a certain point. Better to identify it now rather than waste crucial time.

Pakistan needs Babar the batsman more than as captain, don't waste his prime years with the burden of captaincy.

 

[emranabbas]

For now he needs to be removed from the t20 team together he's is not a t20 player he should focus on odi and tests that's where he belongs.
Make shadab captain of t20 team

 

[Usman Chadda]

Man whatever you say this world cup final defeat will going to hurt us specially the fans because they know it was our team best chance to win it

How was it our best chance? We were barely good enough to reach the semi-finals. Our best chance was last year in 2021, where we blew a decent position against Australia after having them 98/5 chasing 178.

I’m not at all disappointed by this defeat, we just got beat by a better team and still managed to make a match of it. Pakistan fans are forgetting how much better the England team is compared to us, and only our tremendous bowling prowess makes it any closer. Pakistan will lose 8/10 games against a full strength England side, because we just do not have the batting firepower to match them or even get close to them.

 

[Ashmal]

Yeah....let's drop Babar from all three formats as well.

Typical knee jerk reactions

 

[Savak]

Yeah....let's drop Babar from all three formats as well.

Typical knee jerk reactions

Yes, I am asking him to be dropped from all three formats as well.

Typical post when you don't have an objective response to the OP.

 

[hitthestump]

Pakistan lack planning , they fail to plan anything.

Why was made babar made captain ? because he was the best batsman in the team , is that a reason to be made captain ?

Who else should have been made captain at that time?

 

[hitthestump]

I think you more like typical pakistan cricket fan, you have to bring stability in your team in order to win important matches. Just by removing and appointing new captains wont fix the real issues. You being typical want to imagine pakistan playing like england and australia in batting department, however pak batters miss those traits to be modern batsmen due to many reasons can be discussed later on. Just check Virat captaincy records outside asia and you will know how much good he was.

Kan williamson as well as mahela/sangakkara also lead their sides in multiple semifinals and finals without any success which does not make them any less great player/captain.

We have to build a good team for next year worldcup which is not possible if we keep on changing captains and bringing average players as captain who can easily be removed and can be made scrap goat after failures.

Good post. Changing captains will not make any difference. The players clearly like Babar's captaincy and are progressing well under his wing. He has also been ruthless in selection and kicked out several useless players without hesitation. A final in Australia against all odds not being good enough for some shows how high the bar has got under Babar.

 

[Savak]

Good post. Changing captains will not make any difference. The players clearly like Babar's captaincy and are progressing well under his wing. He has also been ruthless in selection and kicked out several useless players without hesitation. A final in Australia against all odds not being good enough for some shows how high the bar has got under Babar.

You can't let poor on field captaincy keep going Unpunished, just keeping the dressing room environment clean is not a sufficient criterion for remaining captain and neither the players liking someone as captain is a sufficient criterion either. Ultimately the results of the team matter the most and the number of matches Pakistan has lost under Babars captaincy along with the KK debacle in PSL 7 is there in front of everyone.

Changing captaincy will make a big difference. The BCCI offered the captaincy to Dhoni in 2007 after Tendulkar refused it, the Indian team has not looked back since then and Dhoni was able to achieve results with the players that Ganguly enjoyed to another level and even Tendulkar called Dhoni the best captain he had ever played under.

 

[Savak]

Lol at Babar kicking out several useless players, he gave Hasan Ali so many chances where he repeatedly cost Pakistan games before persisting any further with Hasan Ali was scandalous.

We have seen him persist with Iftikhar, Asif, Khusdil, Haider Ali and he has to be held responsible for these selections

 

[ask_analyse_act]

He is doing alright , just bring in a strong person like Mickey as head coach and a chief selector who doesn’t have any grudge against any player so that selection on merit is there..

Ever since Hafeez and Malik left they are still trying to fix middle order.


I would give chief selector cum coach role that Misbah had to Andy flower and his supporting team as a package to build the team for the future , there is a good potential in this team and nearly 80%% of the players selected just need the right direction to become world beaters

 

[Savak]

He is doing alright , just bring in a strong person like Mickey as head coach and a chief selector who doesn’t have any grudge against any player so that selection on merit is there..

Ever since Hafeez and Malik left they are still trying to fix middle order.


I would give chief selector cum coach role that Misbah had to Andy flower and his supporting team as a package to build the team for the future , there is a good potential in this team and nearly 80%% of the players selected just need the right direction to become world beaters

Babar was the man in charge of the team and the selections, Ramiz gave Babar the full authority to select whoever he wanted. The CS post became irrelevant as a result.

Also no high profile foreign coach is going to come to Pakistan at the salary the PCB offers when they have so many leagues as options.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Tha

Babar was the man in charge of the team and the selections, Ramiz gave Babar the full authority to select whoever he wanted. The CS post became irrelevant as a result.

Also no high profile foreign coach is going to come to Pakistan at the salary the PCB offers when they have so many leagues as options.

I don’t know how poor PCB but don’t think they are below ACB and BCB

Saqlain at best is a good spin bowling coach not a head coach.

You can see the likes of Khusdil and AA repeatedly given chances after many many failures

That parchi call put an end to Khusdil I hope , also the batting with helmet by Asif ali should be the end for him as well.

Haris who was in reserves was called in and performed from nowhere , shows how much time wasted on this BFF (KIA) Agha Salman showed in Rotterdam that he is a good lower order hitter but never given a chance

Kamran Ghulam in his peak form still not given a chance yet. Takes years to recognise Shan Masood and give a chance to him.

Pakistan need some one like Dhoni who has the eye for talent at some post captain or coach or selector and discard deadwoods at will and no mercy

Even lately Dhoni fell into this trap and gave chances to CSK players that’s a diff story but he has done more good than harm when it comes to team selection for India and also exited captaincy handing over the reigns to Kohli.

Now the job is to find the right players and form the team for 2023 50 over CWC

 

[Ashmal]

Yes, I am asking him to be dropped from all three formats as well.

Typical post when you don't have an objective response to the OP.

You can't build teams when you keep changing captains after every few losses.

Don't want to return to 90s when the captain changed every series which led to infighting and groupism in the dressing room.

I agree that Babar isn't the greatest tactician.
To help him PCB needs to appoint someone who's tactically astute and data driven to assist him, Saqlain unfortunately doesn't come across as one.

Under Babar Pakistan have lost 3 knockouts in a year but we can also see it in a positive way that they have started reaching knockouts much more frequently than earlier....wins will come eventually, just need to make a few minor changes not a complete overhaul.


And even they go by your logic, at most Babar can be asked to leave T20 captaincy, there's no other option to lead in Tests and ODIs.

Shadab (has frequent fitness issues and doesn't play Tests)

Shaheen (can be considered only for T20s, too inexperienced to lead in other formats)

 

[Rana]

PCB removed a non performing yet results delivering captain in Sarfaraz

Will they do the same to Babar Azam who has been carried by his side for nearly 3 months now

 

[adi_62941]

PCB removed a non performing yet results delivering captain in Sarfaraz

Will they do the same to Babar Azam who has been carried by his side for nearly 3 months now

Thats my whole point. Sarfraz was removed wrongly that time, because he was a very average player and also he did not have that much support which babar has right now for obvious reasons. Also he was a yes man for all the players and board people, which resulted him being removed at a very crucial time.

You need to have a powerful performing captain, pakistan is a completely different team than others and we only prosper when we have a performing captain be it imran khan, wasim akram etc.

Give a chance to babar for another year or so and then judge him. I am fully sure he will improve and will learn. The only thing is need right now is a good head coach who can plan all tactical changes and bring out something special out of pak player's average skill

 

[Markhor]

Babar is not a young captain anymore. He's had the job for 3 years and shown no sign of learning from mistakes which OP has listed clearly. These mistakes have cost us 3 tournaments in space of a year.

T20 is the hardest format for captains. The decisions come at you fast, and you can lose a game in an over so there's little margin for error.

Therefore you need a captain who's quick on their feet. Babar however follows a similar script regardless of situation. He doesn't make use of his 6th bowler, and always looks to save his best bowlers for the end instead of going for kill. His batting is also being affected.

Don't see PCB making a change though until after 50 over World Cup.

 

[shaz619]

Babar is not a young captain anymore. He's had the job for 3 years and shown no sign of learning from mistakes which OP has listed clearly. These mistakes have cost us 3 tournaments in space of a year.

T20 is the hardest format for captains. The decisions come at you fast, and you can lose a game in an over so there's little margin for error.

Therefore you need a captain who's quick on their feet. Babar however follows a similar script regardless of situation. He doesn't make use of his 6th bowler, and always looks to save his best bowlers for the end instead of going for kill. His batting is also being affected.

Don't see PCB making a change though until after 50 over World Cup.

Babar got the team to the finals though, don’t you think it’s harsh penalising the guy for losing the trophy matches. The defeat last Sunday was not Sharamful, we’ve seen worse from players which were so toxic.

I don’t know if removing Babar in a Pakistani set up at this stage would be healthy, this team has largely avoided controversies and bloodshed from throne wars.

 

[Adi_62945]

Babar got the team to the finals though, don’t you think it’s harsh penalising the guy for losing the trophy matches. The defeat last Sunday was not Sharamful, we’ve seen worse from players which were so toxic.

I don’t know if removing Babar in a Pakistani set up at this stage would be healthy, this team has largely avoided controversies and bloodshed from throne wars.

Our pakistani fans listen too much former players who can only spit negativity when sitting in-front of camera except for few. I will not blame them that is there bread and butter. Even ramiz said the same things when he was not a chairman which former players are saying now.

Babar is cool calm and good character. Whole world acknowledge him. He just need support a f good coaching staff to have good plans onfield.
Average player with good captaincy skills will not work in pakistani staff for longer period (sarfraz and malik are prime examples). You need good performing player to lead a pakistani side even if he is not that good captain. This is reality and how it works in pakistan cricket.

 

[shaz619]

Our pakistani fans listen too much former players who can only spit negativity when sitting in-front of camera except for few. I will not blame them that is there bread and butter. Even ramiz said the same things when he was not a chairman which former players are saying now.

Babar is cool calm and good character. Whole world acknowledge him. He just need support a f good coaching staff to have good plans onfield.
Average player with good captaincy skills will not work in pakistani staff for longer period (sarfraz and malik are prime examples). You need good performing player to lead a pakistani side even if he is not that good captain. This is reality and how it works in pakistan cricket.

Yes historically that has been what the doctor ordered, to be captain you need to be the best player. He has come under more criticism as he experienced a dip in form. I think you are right that support is necessary at this stage, the board and management all need to calm down, let the players relax and then decide their next steps

 

[Sarwar89]

Our pakistani fans listen too much former players who can only spit negativity when sitting in-front of camera except for few. I will not blame them that is there bread and butter. Even ramiz said the same things when he was not a chairman which former players are saying now.

Babar is cool calm and good character. Whole world acknowledge him. He just need support a f good coaching staff to have good plans onfield.
Average player with good captaincy skills will not work in pakistani staff for longer period (sarfraz and malik are prime examples). You need good performing player to lead a pakistani side even if he is not that good captain. This is reality and how it works in pakistan cricket.

I can comment from two perspectives.

1) He is the first captain since 2009 to lead Pakistan into World cup final.

I do understand 2017 champions trophy win but it was not world cup and babar was part of that winning team, as a player he has tasted success.

He took pakistan to 1st world cup semi final after gap of 9 years (2012-2021) got defeated but went 1 step ahead and took his team to final of world cup.

He has definitely raised the profile of our team.
That is where sarfaraz declined. After 2017 icc champions trophy win, losses against home test series v sri lanka + new zealand + whitewash in south africa and group stage exits in Asia cup 18 and world cup 19 ( combined with his own form loss) ensured whatever we as team gained was lost

I do understand babar’s own form is down but he will come back, since he has raised profile of Pakistan cricket in general & is acknowledged by the Western media, he should continue to lead. He is very cool and in control of emotions on field unlike shahid afridi or sarfaraz. These things matter.

 

[Adi_62945]

Babar got the team to the finals though, don’t you think it’s harsh penalising the guy for losing the trophy matches. The defeat last Sunday was not Sharamful, we’ve seen worse from players which were so toxic.

I don’t know if removing Babar in a Pakistani set up at this stage would be healthy, this team has largely avoided controversies and bloodshed from throne wars.

I can comment from two perspectives.

1) He is the first captain since 2009 to lead Pakistan into World cup final.

I do understand 2017 champions trophy win but it was not world cup and babar was part of that winning team, as a player he has tasted success.

He took pakistan to 1st world cup semi final after gap of 9 years (2012-2021) got defeated but went 1 step ahead and took his team to final of world cup.

He has definitely raised the profile of our team.
That is where sarfaraz declined. After 2017 icc champions trophy win, losses against home test series v sri lanka + new zealand + whitewash in south africa and group stage exits in Asia cup 18 and world cup 19 ( combined with his own form loss) ensured whatever we as team gained was lost

I do understand babar’s own form is down but he will come back, since he has raised profile of Pakistan cricket in general & is acknowledged by the Western media, he should continue to lead. He is very cool and in control of emotions on field unlike shahid afridi or sarfaraz. These things matter.

You summed it up very nicely. Form is temporary i know he is not kohli or root but eventually he will come out of this dip for sure as he shown in NZ semifinal match. His next assignments are in home so we are expecting good runs from him.

He along with harris will score runs for pakistan atleast in ODI

 

[Adi_62945]

I have a feeling that pakistan will make a very good ODI side by next year. We have a settled top order currently plus good middle over batters and a decent fast bowling and spin.

 

[msb314]

You can't let poor on field captaincy keep going Unpunished, just keeping the dressing room environment clean is not a sufficient criterion for remaining captain and neither the players liking someone as captain is a sufficient criterion either. Ultimately the results of the team matter the most and the number of matches Pakistan has lost under Babars captaincy along with the KK debacle in PSL 7 is there in front of everyone.

Changing captaincy will make a big difference. The BCCI offered the captaincy to Dhoni in 2007 after Tendulkar refused it, the Indian team has not looked back since then and Dhoni was able to achieve results with the players that Ganguly enjoyed to another level and even Tendulkar called Dhoni the best captain he had ever played under.

Dhoni was a poor Test captain who did not develop his fast bowling and played too many over the hill players - hence why India lost 0-8 on SENA from 2011-12.

Even in LOI - his defensive captaincy only worked because of India’s insane batting depth where they backed themselves to chase anything on flat pitches.

 

[msb314]

Typical of Pakistani Cricket followers to reinforce failures. This is the national team, if you don't deliver you make way for someone else. Kohli was a much better captain than Babar but even the BCCI got fed up with his failure to win ICC trophies and here Pakistan has a captain who has a chequered history of match losing captaincy blunders.

And no removing a failed captain and replacing him with a captain with more natural potential for the job will not create problems in the team but further improve it.

Actually Kohli is a great example because BCCI removed because him according to you he was “not winning trophies” but then look what happened..

Hew was replaced by an overweight, over the hill player who has now led India to two humiliating exits from ICC tournaments whilst persisting with the likes of Ashwin, Shami and Bhuveshwar Kumar as his first choice bowling..

 

[Adi_62945]

Rohit has proved to be worst than kohli.

 

[mon858]

1. completely agree. we can have other examples to add to the case, but bottom-line is not every great player is also great captain and not every person has ideal leadership skills.

2. sadly with the 2nd place performance, there is NO WAY PCB will may any such change to management, captaincy, and even team selection

3. Unfortunately, I have to sadly say that we will continue to be a mediocre team that punches above its weight on occasions to get placed 2nd-5th on various occassions but highly unlikely to become a top tier / number 1 ranked / tournament winning / test series winning (against top sides) team anytime as it is not in our ethos to focus on continual and precise self-improvement of the system as a whole, management, captaincy, team and individuals, as we do not seem to take things professionally with a high-performance culture approach but rather with a "i am content with where i am at or what i achieved or qudrat ka nizam" culture.

4. We didn't hit a rock bottom to give the PCB leadership a chance to bring about some major change, as even if they agree with making such changes, the media, ex-cricketers, current cricketers, commentators, etc., will eat them alive for trying such things, especially when some of these bear fruit in long-term vs short-term, after having "achieved" whatever they achieved in last year or so. England made such major reset to white ball approach after hitting rock bottom in 2000s, which we unfortunately didn't as we keep punching above or weight due to either our bowling stocks or occasional individual brilliance. but the template is there, it is very clear that you can follow England template for taking you from being a 2nd to 5th ranked team to a top ranked white ball team. There is a reason why Joe Root isn't even playing, let along captaining t20 side.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Given that Pak did make it to the final i don't think he will lose his job. Just a subcontinental hunch

 

[Adi_62945]

Lol at Babar kicking out several useless players, he gave Hasan Ali so many chances where he repeatedly cost Pakistan games before persisting any further with Hasan Ali was scandalous.

We have seen him persist with Iftikhar, Asif, Khusdil, Haider Ali and he has to be held responsible for these selections

Yes he supported hasan to some extent because of his previous match winning performances as well as hasan went into first class cricket and performed really well that is why he was selected again and again.

Moh waseem has set good standards for selection and make it clear for all players that whoever will perform in Firstclass and pakistan domestic leagues will be given preference. Because what happened before is that some player performed in BPL and he is selected right away in International team. Atleast now we have some criteria of selection. And all these players which includes khushdil, iftikhar, haider, harris has performed in domestic cricket. U fortunately they were not able to do well in international cricket as it happens with 90% pakistani players. Its quite understandable.

 

[Adi_62945]

1. completely agree. we can have other examples to add to the case, but bottom-line is not every great player is also great captain and not every person has ideal leadership skills.

2. sadly with the 2nd place performance, there is NO WAY PCB will may any such change to management, captaincy, and even team selection

3. Unfortunately, I have to sadly say that we will continue to be a mediocre team that punches above its weight on occasions to get placed 2nd-5th on various occassions but highly unlikely to become a top tier / number 1 ranked / tournament winning / test series winning (against top sides) team anytime as it is not in our ethos to focus on continual and precise self-improvement of the system as a whole, management, captaincy, team and individuals, as we do not seem to take things professionally with a high-performance culture approach but rather with a "i am content with where i am at or what i achieved or qudrat ka nizam" culture.

4. We didn't hit a rock bottom to give the PCB leadership a chance to bring about some major change, as even if they agree with making such changes, the media, ex-cricketers, current cricketers, commentators, etc., will eat them alive for trying such things, especially when some of these bear fruit in long-term vs short-term, after having "achieved" whatever they achieved in last year or so. England made such major reset to white ball approach after hitting rock bottom in 2000s, which we unfortunately didn't as we keep punching above or weight due to either our bowling stocks or occasional individual brilliance. but the template is there, it is very clear that you can follow England template for taking you from being a 2nd to 5th ranked team to a top ranked white ball team. There is a reason why Joe Root isn't even playing, let along captaining t20 side.

Whoever comparing ECB plan of action with PCB has to understand ground realities. They had luxury of selecting among best performers in counties. And post 2000 we have seen some wonderful players coming out of their domestic circuit. Only after 2015, they have selected bunch of players who were of same level and have some incredible batting skills. And most importantly they began winning ICC tournaments which make them superior limited over side.
PCB on other hand reply mostly on PSL which itself dont have any inclusion of raw talent. Rather these franchises mostly select players who are experienced or performing in T20s worldwide.

 

[Shafi]

Babar and Rizwan should not even play T20 at all. Fraud like Saqlain needs to be kicked ASAP.

 

[Maher96]

The poor lad just isn’t smart enough. Had a feeling Shaheen could break anytime due to his injury. Once we had butler in that rauf over the ball should have gone to Shaheen. Bowl his 3rd over. Shadab is also to blame I didn’t once see him change his overs in this World Cup. The guy came in and bowled out his quota. T20 is a quick game we’re you can’t allow players to settle.

I don’t know if a chance in captaincy will bring us any better luck, to be honest Safraz lost it very much after the ODI World Cup. Not making it to the semis hurt him badly.

May be if we kept him for the WC in 21 it would have been different. He would have also been handy middle order bat in these conditions coming in at 4-6 getting ones and two’s.

It’s ODI for now, Babar is fine. Give him another shot at a ICC trophy. Eventually the Badhshah will come good.

Babar Bhai is the supreme Leader and it’s his pack.

Excited about this years PSL, players need to stand up and perform better than Babar.

 

[Shafi]

Due to Ramiz's stupidity Babar and Saqlain cost us 3 cups doing same things. Ramiz needs to be sacked as well. He is only good as a commentator with no intellectual. He persisted on Saqlain for this long.

 

[shamaan]

Don't understand the desperation of players to continue to hog the captaincy in Pakistani Cricket. The captaincy role comes with a lot of pressures, unwanted attention, scrutiny and a drop in personal form. Its not like you drastically get paid a lot more either for being captain.

Babar has had 3 years in this job now. I haven't seen him improve or develop signficantly as captain in terms of reading the match situation, bowling changes, field placements or batting order decisions. I can argue he is in fact getting even worse than before.

I can personally point out many vital games Pakistan has lost under his captaincy

1) T20 WC SF against Australia in 2021

- Allowed Maxwell, Wade to help Australia recover from 96/5 to chase down 178 in 19 overs

2) Australian Home series 2022

- Prepared dead wickets, kept selecting the likes of Nauman and Sajid when it was abundantly clear these two spinners were not good enough to challenge Australia on dead wickets

3) Second test match against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka

- After seeing how pathetic Pakistani spinners were in the first test, he still decides to go in with a past prime Yasir Shah and selects part timers like Salman Ali Agha as his premier spinner

4) T20 game against India

- Instead of going for the kill against Kohli, Pandya, he allows them to stage a recovery from 31/4 to chase down 160 on a pacy, bouncy MCG wicket

5) T20 WC Final against England

- On a fast, seaming, swinging, pacy, bouncy MCG wicket where we have England 45-3 defending 138, where Pakistan had no choice but to go for the attack against an England batting line up where they bat all the way down to number 11, he refuses to bowl out Shaheen, Rauf, refuses to bring in 2 slips and instead allows Stokes, Brooks to settle in against Shadab, Wasim Jr

6) KK disaster season in PSL 7

- No franchise has ever had a horror season then they did under Babar's captaincy. The fact that Wasim Akram is happy to let him go is saying something even though Babar is hyped to be the best batsman in the country.

7) ODI Whitewash against England's C team in 2021 and 2-1 T20 series loss

3 years is a long time to assess someone's potential and ceiling as a captain, how he has captained in pressure situations in many games. History is filled with examples i.e. Joe Root, Sachin Tendulkar that just because you are the best batsman in the team does not mean you should be captaining the country either.

At the time when Babar was appointed in 2019, there were no alternatives back then but now there are other options i.e. Rizwan, Shadab, Shaheen who have shown ability and willingness to take risks as captains, to make bold calls and show out of the box thinking in their PSL stints.

I strongly appeal to Ramiz Raja to please remove Babar as captain from all formats and instruct him to focus on his batting. Pakistan needs him firing as a batsman in all formats without the burdens of captaincy. He is not cut out for the captaincy. Give it to someone else who is more naturally suited to the role.

Whilst I agree with most you said it definitely wasn't Babar fault regarding dead Pitches also they Sajid and Nuaman were the best spinners in Qaid E Azam not long before that series and if they wasn't the best who was statistically.

 

[Savak]

According to Sports Reporters, Babar isn't going anywere as captain. However Saqlain has requested that he be released from the coaching duties because he wants to focus on his business commitments and he can only that while serving Pakistan while working at the NHPC. Right now it is likely he will continue during the England and NZ series in an interim capacity but Ramiz has now started contacting foreign coaches to take up the role. Apparently Mickey Arthur has been contacted as well but the guy is contracted to Derbyshire.

Ramiz is also now alternatively thinking about appointing a Director of Cricket similar to the role that Andrew Strauss does at the ECB, he is looking at foreign individuals and this individual will be given a free hand to appoint the Test, ODI and T-20 coaches as he wants and will be responsible for liasing the national team and domestic teams.

Interesting times coming up.

 

[Rana]

According to Sports Reporters, Babar isn't going anywere as captain. However Saqlain has requested that he be released from the coaching duties because he wants to focus on his business commitments and he can only that while serving Pakistan while working at the NHPC. Right now it is likely he will continue during the England and NZ series in an interim capacity but Ramiz has now started contacting foreign coaches to take up the role. Apparently Mickey Arthur has been contacted as well but the guy is contracted to Derbyshire.

Ramiz is also now alternatively thinking about appointing a Director of Cricket similar to the role that Andrew Strauss does at the ECB, he is looking at foreign individuals and this individual will be given a free hand to appoint the Test, ODI and T-20 coaches as he wants and will be responsible for liasing the national team and domestic teams.

Interesting times coming up.

Shoaib Akhtar deserves a crack as the director of cricket.

 

[gazza619]

We are lucky to have Babar. He is our captain for the next 5 years without any doubt.

 

[gazza619]

Shoaib Akhtar deserves a crack as the director of cricket.

You never fail to amuse me.

 

[Rana]

You never fail to amuse me.

Good

Enjoy it.

 

[hitthestump]

Lol at Babar kicking out several useless players, he gave Hasan Ali so many chances where he repeatedly cost Pakistan games before persisting any further with Hasan Ali was scandalous.

We have seen him persist with Iftikhar, Asif, Khusdil, Haider Ali and he has to be held responsible for these selections

Iftikhar wasn't even in the squad this time last year. The rest have been out of the side, then in, then out again, so you are generally wrong here.

But yes it's a shame that Babar didn't dig into the gigantic well of talent that is domestic batsmen who are just waiting for selection. Plucking random names on the very eve of a WC doesn't sound like much of a plan. At least the four he picked have international experience and are at the top of the domestic t20 scene.

Babar also proved his ruthlessness by bypassing the squad and getting Haris straight into the XI.

I can't decide if it is a good thing or not that the bar is so damn high now that a captain who gets his team to a WC final is deemed a failure. Babar has done one hell of a job to get us so used to finals that we complain about them. That too in Australia of all places.

 

[Gayle_Force]

I think Babar should reconsider captaincy if it is impacting his batting and it seemed like in T20 at least that he is taking some pressure.

Overall though his on field decisions have been fairly good and he has the backing of the team, which in subcontinent cricket is the most important thing.

 

[Suleiman]

Ban Babar from t20s.

Losing 2 winnable finals within 3 months is absolutely criminal.

The drop in body language as soon as we are even a little bit under the pump is pathetic, and this guy is the one who is leading us this way. He’s not the worst tactically, but he is not a leader. Not in any way. Doesn’t inspire confidence from the rest of the team.

138 was defendable, but the way we came out with shoulders hunched meant we had already checked the **** out. It’s only the Shaheen wicket that caused us to believe again. Imagine if we attacked the field with belief from the get go.

As poor as Sarfraz was as a player, as captain he had a never say die attitude. Same with Wasim Akram the captain where we fought from ball 1 even if we had to defend 163 from 50 overs. Babar is great when the going is good, but becomes a helpless whiner as soon as the pressure is on.

What a poor dismissal as well. If your captain is ******** his pants under pressure in lieu of all of his batting prowess, what message does it send to the young guys in the dressing room?

Need a captain who can keep it together under pressure.

 

[reversehook]

Shoaib Akhtar deserves a crack as the director of cricket.

he will be elon musk + to twitter... first day everyone fired... 2nd day khud ko fire... leave shaiby to yt.

 

[Savak]

Iftikhar wasn't even in the squad this time last year. The rest have been out of the side, then in, then out again, so you are generally wrong here.

But yes it's a shame that Babar didn't dig into the gigantic well of talent that is domestic batsmen who are just waiting for selection. Plucking random names on the very eve of a WC doesn't sound like much of a plan. At least the four he picked have international experience and are at the top of the domestic t20 scene.

Babar also proved his ruthlessness by bypassing the squad and getting Haris straight into the XI.

I can't decide if it is a good thing or not that the bar is so damn high now that a captain who gets his team to a WC final is deemed a failure. Babar has done one hell of a job to get us so used to finals that we complain about them. That too in Australia of all places.

Lol Haris didn't select Haris, that was all Ramiz. Many sports reporters have verified that Babar and Mohd Wasim wanted Sarfaraz but Ramiz put his foot down on the youngster.

 

[Bewal Express]

He shouldnt be T20 captain, he should be captain of the ODI team for the WC and he should remain as test captain for the foreseeable future.

 

[Mamoon]

Babar will continue to captain the side in all formats for at least the next 5 years.

 

[msb314]

Ban Babar from t20s.

Losing 2 winnable finals within 3 months is absolutely criminal.

The drop in body language as soon as we are even a little bit under the pump is pathetic, and this guy is the one who is leading us this way. He’s not the worst tactically, but he is not a leader. Not in any way. Doesn’t inspire confidence from the rest of the team.

138 was defendable, but the way we came out with shoulders hunched meant we had already checked the **** out. It’s only the Shaheen wicket that caused us to believe again. Imagine if we attacked the field with belief from the get go.

As poor as Sarfraz was as a player, as captain he had a never say die attitude. Same with Wasim Akram the captain where we fought from ball 1 even if we had to defend 163 from 50 overs. Babar is great when the going is good, but becomes a helpless whiner as soon as the pressure is on.

What a poor dismissal as well. If your captain is ******** his pants under pressure in lieu of all of his batting prowess, what message does it send to the young guys in the dressing room?

Need a captain who can keep it together under pressure.

Bro be happy we are even playing finals

 

[Suleiman]

Bro be happy we are even playing finals

I will be once enough time passes, but right now I’m sad we lost the final

It’s very very hard to digest. 3 t20 WC finals and just 1 win. All 3 winnable.

 

[moghul]

Less than a year to go for the 50 over WC and there is no other suitable replacement to lead the team in that.
Keep Babar as captain of ODI and test team but sack him from T20 captaincy and hand it over to Shadab .

ODI is the best format for Babar and I'm sure he has learnt from his mistakes.

 

[nam]

Agree with OP. Shadab is ready for this role specially in White ball cricket.

 

[Kianig89]

In ramiz Raja mind Babar has become Ricky Ponting of Pakistan #inside sources

So there is not the slightest of chance of sacking Babar also I local media team is being treated as heroes and the circumstances in which they made to final and fought hard it is understandable.

What Ricky Ponting I mean Babar must do is sat down with some sane persons and select a decent squad for Eng Tests, because only winning a Test Series against Eng can redeem him as skipp, though it looks unlikely

 

[Adi_62945]

Agree with OP. Shadab is ready for this role specially in White ball cricket.

He is such an average cricketer that if he fails in 2-3 matches. You will again cry to remove him. Plus he is injury prone. He looks athletic but lacks fitness

 

[Adi_62945]

Babar will continue to captain the side in all formats for at least the next 5 years.

Most probably. If it happens then pakistan cricket will get some right direction after long time.

 

[Shafi]

According to Sports Reporters, Babar isn't going anywere as captain. However Saqlain has requested that he be released from the coaching duties because he wants to focus on his business commitments and he can only that while serving Pakistan while working at the NHPC. Right now it is likely he will continue during the England and NZ series in an interim capacity but Ramiz has now started contacting foreign coaches to take up the role. Apparently Mickey Arthur has been contacted as well but the guy is contracted to Derbyshire.

Ramiz is also now alternatively thinking about appointing a Director of Cricket similar to the role that Andrew Strauss does at the ECB, he is looking at foreign individuals and this individual will be given a free hand to appoint the Test, ODI and T-20 coaches as he wants and will be responsible for liasing the national team and domestic teams.

Interesting times coming up.

This fraud is way too smart for PCB. He knew that PCB may sack him so he made up.

 

[Rana]

What’s the point of sacking/replacing Saqlain if Babar is making all the playing tactics as it is?

His tactics and priorities are wrong. You need to place a coach who will not give him a free hand or you might as well keep Saqlain and Yousuf

 

[Ashmal]

According to Sports Reporters, Babar isn't going anywere as captain. However Saqlain has requested that he be released from the coaching duties because he wants to focus on his business commitments and he can only that while serving Pakistan while working at the NHPC. Right now it is likely he will continue during the England and NZ series in an interim capacity but Ramiz has now started contacting foreign coaches to take up the role. Apparently Mickey Arthur has been contacted as well but the guy is contracted to Derbyshire.

Ramiz is also now alternatively thinking about appointing a Director of Cricket similar to the role that Andrew Strauss does at the ECB, he is looking at foreign individuals and this individual will be given a free hand to appoint the Test, ODI and T-20 coaches as he wants and will be responsible for liasing the national team and domestic teams.

Interesting times coming up.

A foreigner as Director of Cricket won't work in Pakistan.

The media and the old guard in PCB will never let him work freely.

We saw what happened with Wasim Khan.

 

[PakLFC]

Babar will be our new Shoaib Malik. No matter what he'll always be in the team even when performing poorly. I don't believe he's even world class.

 

[Savak]

What’s the point of sacking/replacing Saqlain if Babar is making all the playing tactics as it is?

His tactics and priorities are wrong. You need to place a coach who will not give him a free hand or you might as well keep Saqlain and Yousuf

If Saqlain and Yousaf are unable to exert themselves in front of Babar, then they are misfits for the job. Do you think Mickey Arthur would sit back silently letting Babar call all the shots?

 

[Rana]

If Saqlain and Yousaf are unable to exert themselves in front of Babar, then they are misfits for the job. Do you think Mickey Arthur would sit back silently letting Babar call all the shots?

I doubt it but this isn’t the same Babar he left behind 3 years ago.

This is an extremely stubborn Babar. He also has to deal with the problem of Rizwan who he probably never rated as an opener/middle order player who is now too dangerous to drop due to a lot of external factors

I cannot stress enough the damage Misbah has done with his limited strategic thinking

 

[TheSultan]

In ramiz Raja mind Babar has become Ricky Ponting of Pakistan #inside sources

So there is not the slightest of chance of sacking Babar also I local media team is being treated as heroes and the circumstances in which they made to final and fought hard it is understandable.

What Ricky Ponting I mean Babar must do is sat down with some sane persons and select a decent squad for Eng Tests, because only winning a Test Series against Eng can redeem him as skipp, though it looks unlikely

I want to understand what Rambo’s motive is. When he was freely criticising the team (rightly imo), he made some very fair statements and displayed a good understanding of the nuances of cricket. He was correctly critical of babar’s captaincy too.

He’s not dumb enough to not realise that babar is not captaincy material yet atm he is babar’s biggest cheerleader. So id like to know what benefit Rambo has in Babar staying on. It surely is something

 

[Saj]

I think it would actually help Babar if he gave up the T20I captaincy and concentrated on leading the side only in ODIs and Tests.

Make Shadab skipper in T20Is.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Iftikhar wasn't even in the squad this time last year. The rest have been out of the side, then in, then out again, so you are generally wrong here.

But yes it's a shame that Babar didn't dig into the gigantic well of talent that is domestic batsmen who are just waiting for selection. Plucking random names on the very eve of a WC doesn't sound like much of a plan. At least the four he picked have international experience and are at the top of the domestic t20 scene.

Babar also proved his ruthlessness by bypassing the squad and getting Haris straight into the XI.

I can't decide if it is a good thing or not that the bar is so damn high now that a captain who gets his team to a WC final is deemed a failure. Babar has done one hell of a job to get us so used to finals that we complain about them. That too in Australia of all places.

Well to be fair, he lucked out as captain.

If it were not for SA losing to Netherlands (usually not gonna happen), we would be ready to fire him now.

We lost 2 critical matches due to his captaincy.

Yes, Pakistan deserved to be in the final.

But it's not because of Babar Azam as you make everyone believe.

 

[Savak]

Opposition captains would have killed to have the fast bowling attack of Pakistan.

People under estimate how vital moments in a game are lost when you don't go for the kill. It was incredible to see the ball seaming, swinging, bouncing around and we had England 43-3 and we were defending 138 and the only chance we had to win the game was to pick up wickets. Babar decided to have no slips, he decided not to bring back Shaheen and he took out Rauf from the attack and replaced him with Shadab and Wasim Jr and released the pressure of Stokes and Brooks.

Pakistan cannot continue to lose matches like this because of incompetent captaincy and a captain with zero personality and understanding of the game.

 

[Savak]

Babar Azam should remain captain because he is the best batsman in the team, he is an acha bacha who keeps the team together, happy, united and he led Pakistan to the Semi Final of a T20 WC and the final of the T20 WC.

No consideration on competency for the job, captaincy record, past captaincy mistakes with team selections, bowling strategies, field placements, game awareness, pro activeness, ability to think on your feet in the job and make quick decisions.

 

[Rana]

Babar Azam should remain captain because he is the best batsman in the team, he is an acha bacha who keeps the team together, happy, united and he led Pakistan to the Semi Final of a T20 WC and the final of the T20 WC.

No consideration on competency for the job, captaincy record, past captaincy mistakes with team selections, bowling strategies, field placements, game awareness, pro activeness, ability to think on your feet in the job and make quick decisions.

You’ve summed it up perfectly

His predicted predecessor is very much the same as he is. Just a bit more proactive

 

[TheSultan]

I am sick of these dead captains. They are like Zombies and have no tactical nous

 

[zaidihusain]

Babar has some serious selection issues, he has failed to select best available eleven on many occasions. Playing 4 debutants in first test match is a recipe of disaster. I think Nawaz & Faheem should have played. At least Nawaz might have added variety as he is SLA

 

[Savak]

Babar has some serious selection issues, he has failed to select best available eleven on many occasions. Playing 4 debutants in first test match is a recipe of disaster. I think Nawaz & Faheem should have played. At least Nawaz might have added variety as he is SLA

Its one thing to give someone like Imran Khan or Virat Kohli absolute unquestioned selection powers but to give the same authority to someone like Babar Azam who has zero game awareness and zero vision for the side is an absolute recipe for disaster.

 

[zaidihusain]

Its one thing to give someone like Imran Khan or Virat Kohli absolute unquestioned selection powers but to give the same authority to someone like Babar Azam who has zero game awareness and zero vision for the side is an absolute recipe for disaster.

Agreed. I have always respected Babar as ODI & Test batsman but when it comes to captaincy he has some personal likes & dislikes. In this test match no proper left arm bowler was played, he went with one dimensional bowling attack